The Supreme Leader of Iran said Wednesday his Islamic regime will not “trust the UK” and EU nations as the British, Germans, and French attempt to salvage the nuclear deal scrapped by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Iranian reports of the speech were published minutes before British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson told MPs the UK would “strive to preserve the gains” made by the agreement negotiated under former President Barack Obama.
He added: “Britain has no intention of walking away; instead we will cooperate with the other parties to ensure that while Iran continues to restrict its nuclear programme, then its people will benefit from sanctions relief in accordance with the central bargain of the deal.”
The Iranian leader was not as optimistic, dismissing European leaders attempts to ingratiate themselves with Iran.
“Now, it is said [Iran’s administration] that the agreement will stay in place with participation of the three European countries; I do not trust these three countries,” he said.
Addressing Iran’s government, he continued: “Do not trust [Britain and other European nations] either. If you want to sign an agreement, you first need to obtain a practical guarantee; otherwise, they will do the same as the U.S. did.”
“If you managed to get the guarantee, that is alright, although I do not think that you will,” he said. “If you failed to obtain definite reassurance, then we cannot stay in the nuclear deal.”
In a furious rant at the Farhangiaan University in Iran’s capital Tehran this Wednesday, Ayatollah Khamenei also claimed Trump’s body “will be food for worms” after he accused the United States of increasing support for terror.
“The Iranian nation is standing firm and the Islamic Republic remains strong while [the previous U.S. presidents] have died and their bones have decomposed,” he blasted. “Trump too will return to dust and his body will be food for worms, but the Islamic Republic will remain standing on its feet.”
In an official translation of the statement, Khamenei added: “You heard last night that the president of America made some silly and superficial comments.”
“He had maybe more than 10 lies in his comments. He threatened the regime and the people, saying I’ll do this and that. Mr. Trump, I tell you on behalf of the Iranian people: you’ve made a mistake. You cannot do a damn thing.”
Sir Michael Fallon, the UK’s defense secretary when the deal was signed, appeared to back Trump’s criticism of the “rather flimsy agreement,” which he told MPs “should never have been called comprehensive.”
“Far from constraining Iranian behavior, it has enabled the Iranian regime to use its new financial freedom to interfere in Syria, in Iraq, above all in Yemen, and to sponsor Houthi attacks on our friends in Saudi Arabia,” he added.
Mr. Johnson, who traveled to the U.S. to try and stop Trump scrapping the deal, claimed he did “not recall [Sir Michael] making these points” at the time and insisted he disagreed with his views, according to the BBC.
Robert Halfon, another former minister, demanded the UK support the U.S. instead of “appeasing” Iran, and Tory MP Andrew Percy also broke ranks to slam Iran’s “increasingly malign and dangerous influence.”